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Steelers Continue to Check Out Late First Rounders

The Steelers were in full force at LSUís pro day on Wednesday with Mike Tomlin, Todd Haley, and Kevin Colbert all in attendance.

Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. made it known in a radio interview that he had dinner with that group on Tuesday night.

OBJ fits the Todd Haley mold of receivers to a tee.

A smaller receiver that works very well in space and makes his money with precise route running and then working after the catch.

Iím a big fan of him, but I think his lack of size makes him a bit of a reach at the 15th pick.

Iím not one that has to get a 6í5″ receiver, but it would be nice to get a red-zone threat at the 15th pick.

Itís possible the Steelers like Beckham enough to take him at their current spot in the first round, but history suggests they wonít.

Draft stock fluctuates so wildly that I donít have any hard numbers to back this up, but I can tell you what Iíve observed about the Steelersí draft strategy in the pastÖ

To me it seems the Steelers typically go with the ďsafeĒ value pick in round 1, and then tend to get a little more creative afterwards. I can honestly say the only pick in recent memory that really surprised me in round 1 was Ziggy Hood.

Guys like Jarvis Jones, David DeCastro, Cameron Heyward, Maurkice Pouncey, Rashard Mendenhall, and Lawrence Timmons were all considered to fit the range or in a lot of cases great values at their draft slot.

Where the Steelers ďreachĒ (and understand Iím just talking according to all the clueless talking heads, myself included) is usually after round 1. Last season Jarvis Jones was considered a steal, and LeíVeon Bell was considered a reach.

I bring all of this up because it seems like the Steelers are paying a lot of attention to guys that according to most people, are late first round picks.

Itís always possible the Steelers like someone a lot more than the general public. However, I also think that if guys like Gilbert, Dennard, and Evans are off the board the Steelers will try hard to move down.

Colbert has talked about how deep this draft class is, and itís been said that maybe not many teams want to move upÖ but I think thatís the plan going in.

Once names start flying off the board though I think youíll see teams get antsy and deals will be on the table.

Never doubt how desperate teams without franchise quarterbacks get if Manziel, Bridgewater, Carr, or Bortles start to fall and there's a team in front of them with a need at quarterback. I think one of two things is going to happen for the Steelers and they are both good things, either 3 or 4 of these quarterbacks get drafted before 1.15 thus dropping a player that the Steelers never believed to be available right into their laps or only one or two of them get drafted early and a team gets desparate and wants to move up a couple spots to get their guy at 1.15.

Either way the Steelers win and get great value and a great player or they get an extra pick or two in a deep draft. I think the Steelers win big in this draft.

Maybe its because everyone seems to get a "top 20" or first round grade and theres only 20-32 players that can be taken there. Theres going to be an opportunity to get a first round guy in the second....nix/tuitt come to mind for me

Maybe its because everyone seems to get a "top 20" or first round grade and theres only 20-32 players that can be taken there. Theres going to be an opportunity to get a first round guy in the second....nix/tuitt come to mind for me